The ancient settlement of Storgozia origi­nally emerged as a roadside station locat­ed on one of the Empire’s main roads, Via Traiana, connecting Oescus and Philip­popolis. It probably inherited the name of a Thracian settlement that existed in the same place.

A garrison of a division of Legion I Italica stationed in Novae was deployed in Stor­gozia. Better economic conditions at­tracted the residents of nearby small settlements to the station. The increas­ingly frequent raids of the Gothic tribes forced the inhabitants of the road station to move southward to the naturally forti­fied terrain of the Tuchenitsa River gorge, part of which is today’s Kailaka Park. At the beginning of the 4th century, an area of 31 decares was enclosed by a strong fortress wall, 2.20 m wide, built of cyclopean blocks and white mortar, two gates and three towers with different shapes.

Archaeological finds from Storgozia and its necropolis show evidence that the ancient city survived until the end of the 6th century when it was destroyed by the Slavs and the Avars.

Nowadays, two monumental public build­ings have been discovered and restored in the interior of the fortress - an early Christian basilica (45.20 m long and 22.20 m wide) and a grain storage facility. The fortification system has also been pre­served.

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